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Music college opens in downtown Detroit

Photo by Bridget Vis / Crain's Detroit Business
The Detroit Institute of Music Education opened for business today in a temporary space on Woodward, and Wildflowers was the first band to perform on the stage.

Clarification appended

Organizers of the Detroit Institute of Music Education opened the school today at a temporary location on Woodward until its permanent space opens this fall in the Dan Gilbert-owned Bamlet Building on Griswold Street and Grand River Avenue.

"We decided to bring the college to Detroit based on the enthusiasm we found," said Kevin Nixon, one of the founders, during a news conference attended by about 75 people today inside the temporary space.

The DIME pop-up space, equipped with a stage and sound system, also will feature regular entertainment events.

Photo by Bridget Vis / Crain's Detroit Business
The stage is set for music education in the city: the Detroit Institute of Music Education officially opened today.

Nixon, Sarah Clayman and Bruce Dickinson - all veterans of the British music industry - founded DIME after passing on an opportunity to work on a music education effort with "American Idol."

Farmington Hills-based Beringea LLC will invest $3 million in the college. "This is a business model that was perfected in the U.K., and the founders of that business were looking for a spot in the U.S. to take it," Charlie Rothstein, Beringea's senior managing director, told Crain's. "And Detroit is the perfect place to take it."

Gilbert also attended the school's opening today. "This is not a startup venture - these guys are very successful," he said. "This is the type of business we need in Detroit," Gilbert said, noting that DIME is a business that will attract young people who will contribute to the city's comeback.

The band Wildflowers played two songs at the school’s opening event. Lead singer Siddy Bennett and guitarist James Ashbury attended Nixon’s music college in the United Kingdom, while two members, drummer Valerie Klaft and bass guitarist Elise McCoy are from Detroit.

After hearing so many depressing stories about Detroit, Nixon said he was very surprised at the energy he found in the city when he visit for the first time.

“The positivity in this city boils over; this town is fantastic,” he said.

Nixon said the great secret of Detroit is its cultural treasures, and that the Guardian and Fisher buildings are “up there with Venice.”

He described the music scene in Detroit as 10 separate musical communities, which he hopes to bring together in downtown Detroit, which he said currently lacks such a community. Although, Nixon said his dream for the music school is to discover the next Marvin Gaye.

“It’s a personal dream of mine,” he said.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story contained an incomplete quote by Dan Gilbert. This version of the story is correct.